New hope for respiratory disease with bacterial discovery
Posted on 28 January 2009
Many bacteria that live exclusively inside the human body have evolved to use chemicals that are released from our cells for their own growth and persistence. One of these compounds is a sugar, sialic acid, and to use it the bacteria need a mechanism to take it up efficiently from the body.
This new work provides insight into a novel type of transporter that is widespread and generally underappreciated in bacteria
Dr Gavin Thomas
The human pathogen Haemophilus influenzae uses a novel type of transporter, called a TRAP transporter, to capture sialic acid from the body, a process that is essential for colonisation. Research from the group of Dr Gavin Thomas in the Department of Biology in York, in collaboration with Professor Bert Poolman in Groningen, Netherlands, has characterised the mechanism of this transporter.
Their work could lead to new drug treatments for H. influenzae infections which can cause respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and middle ear infections.
The research demonstrates that TRAP transporters are hybrid systems with mechanistic properties characteristic of both primary and secondary transporters. They combine these to produce a unique combination of features that are likely to be very effective in certain microbial habitats.
Dr Thomas said: "This new work provides insight into a novel type of transporter that is widespread and generally underappreciated in bacteria. This tells us fundamental information about the diversity of bacterial transporters. It also provides more details of a potential drug target for development of treatments for Haemophilus influenzae infections."
The research is published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) USA.
The work was funded by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) PhD studentship and subsequent BBSRC-funded research grant. The researchers were Drs Christopher Mulligan and Emmanuele Severi in York, with Dr Eric Geertsma in Groningen, and also Professor David Kelly from the University of Sheffield who discovered TRAP transporters.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The paper The substrate-binding protein imposes directionality on an electrochemical sodium gradient-driven TRAP transporter is published in the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) USA.
- The University of York’s Department of Biology, one of the leading centres for biological teaching and research in the UK. In the recent Research Assessment Exercise, the Department was equal first amount broad spectrum bioscience departments. The Department both teaches degree courses and undertakes research across the whole spectrum of modern Biology, from molecular genetics and biochemistry to ecology.
- The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is the UK funding agency for research in the life sciences. Sponsored by Government, BBSRC annually invests around £420 million in a wide range of research that makes a significant contribution to the quality of life for UK citizens and supports a number of important industrial stakeholders including the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. BBSRC carries out its mission by funding internationally competitive research, providing training in the biosciences, fostering opportunities for knowledge transfer and innovation and promoting interaction with the public and other stakeholders on issues of scientific interest in universities, centres and institutes.